History UsefulNotes / ArmosWithArmor

Thousands of Armenians would fight on the Soviet side in the UsefulNotes/GreatPatrioticWar years later, with many of its citizens being drafted (see also UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets since Armenia was a part of the Soviet Union at the time).

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Thousands of Armenians would fight on the Soviet side in the UsefulNotes/GreatPatrioticWar [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Great Patriotic War]] years later, with many of its citizens being drafted (see also UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets since Armenia was a part of the Soviet Union at the time).

The Kingdom of Armenia first came into being after the Romans defeated the Selucid Empire in 190 BC, leading a local general from the area, Artashes I, to declare himself King. Rome and Persia had their hands too full to object. At the height of it's power in the First Century BC, the Armenian Empire spread over parts of what is today the Caucasus, Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon. After its expansion under the leadership of King Tigran the Great, it conquered a fairly sizable chunk of the entire Middle East. This zenith of power came at a time when Persia and Rome were both weakened, and lasted a few decades, until Rome defeated the Pontic Greek kingdom and its king fled south to Armenia, prompting Rome to send troops into the heart of Armenia and capture its capital. Despite defeating Armenia, Rome had no interest in annexing the country outright just yet (due to both how costly it would be and out of fear of raising neighboring Persia's ire) and settled for some territorial gains and taxation. Gradually, after the Roman and Persian empires regained power, they chipped away at Armenia's territory until only Greater Armenia remained. Only a few generations after Tigran's reign Armenia briefly lost its independence (becoming a Roman province, and later a Persian one, as the two empires fought over it). Armenia reaffirmed itself in the region with the Arsacid Dynasty, a Parthian-Persian line of kings, after Persia won a war against Rome and hand-picked a new King for Armenia. Armenia became a buffer kingdom between Rome and Persia from then on, whereas it's king would be approved by both empires as agreed by a treaty. This went on until the Sassanid Persians overthrew the Parthians. When Armenia finally was partitioned between [[ByzantineEmpire Byzantine Rome]] and Sassanid Persia in 387 and its monarchy abolished, it was only with the nakharar's consent, as different families had different strategic alliances with both empires and most didn't like the monarchy. The nakharars under Byzantine rule, however, would soon find that the Justinian reforms robbed them of most of their power, including their right to a private army.

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The Kingdom of Armenia first came into being after the Romans defeated the Selucid Empire in 190 BC, leading a local general from the area, Artashes I, to declare himself King. Rome and Persia had their hands too full to object. At the height of it's power in the First Century BC, the Armenian Empire spread over parts of what is today the Caucasus, Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon. After its expansion under the leadership of King Tigran the Great, it conquered a fairly sizable chunk of the entire Middle East. This zenith of power came at a time when Persia and Rome were both weakened, and lasted a few decades, until Rome defeated the Pontic Greek kingdom and its king fled south to Armenia, prompting Rome to send troops into the heart of Armenia and capture its capital. Despite defeating Armenia, Rome had no interest in annexing the country outright just yet (due to both how costly it would be and out of fear of raising neighboring Persia's ire) and settled for some territorial gains and taxation. Gradually, after the Roman and Persian empires regained power, they chipped away at Armenia's territory until only Greater Armenia remained. Only a few generations after Tigran's reign Armenia briefly lost its independence (becoming a Roman province, and later a Persian one, as the two empires fought over it). Armenia reaffirmed itself in the region with the Arsacid Dynasty, a Parthian-Persian line of kings, after Persia won a war against Rome and hand-picked a new King for Armenia. Armenia became a buffer kingdom between Rome and Persia from then on, whereas it's king would be approved by both empires as agreed by a treaty. This went on until the Sassanid Persians overthrew the Parthians. When Armenia finally was partitioned between [[ByzantineEmpire [[UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire Byzantine Rome]] and Sassanid Persia in 387 and its monarchy abolished, it was only with the nakharar's consent, as different families had different strategic alliances with both empires and most didn't like the monarchy. The nakharars under Byzantine rule, however, would soon find that the Justinian reforms robbed them of most of their power, including their right to a private army.

See also: TheGloryThatWasRome, UsefulNotes/PersiansWithPistols, UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets, and UsefulNotes/RussiansWithRustingRockets (since Armenia is in much the same predicament).

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See also: TheGloryThatWasRome, UsefulNotes/TheGloryThatWasRome, UsefulNotes/PersiansWithPistols, UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets, and UsefulNotes/RussiansWithRustingRockets (since Armenia is in much the same predicament).

[[quoteright:450:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/603px-Maps_of_the_Armenian_Empire_of_Tigranes_147.gif]][[caption-width-right:450:Ah, the good old days. [[note]] The Empire of Tigran the Great at it's fullest extent, between 95-55 BC [[/note]]]]

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[[quoteright:450:http://static.[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/603px-Maps_of_the_Armenian_Empire_of_Tigranes_147.gif]][[caption-width-right:450:Ah, org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_armenian_empire_of_tigranes.png]][[caption-width-right:350:Ah, the good old days. [[note]] The Empire of Tigran the Great at it's fullest extent, between 95-55 BC [[/note]]]][[/note]]]]

During the UsefulNotes/FirstWorldWar, Armenians fought on both sides of the conflict as the Ottoman Empire made an ill-fated attempt to invade Russia in the winter, because Armenians happened to also be living on the Russian side. Though there were a number of Armenians working as spies for the Russians, ironically there were a higher number of ''Turkish'' people working as spies too, and besides that the blundering military tactics of [[GeneralFailure General Enver Pasha]] did more to foil the Turkish efforts than anything else. But the Turkish government, now under the control of the Young Turks, accused all of its Armenian civilians of treason after their defeat (when really they had just been waiting for a good enough excuse to get rid of the Armenians since the 1800's), and thus in 1915 the events of the Armenian Genocide unfolded as Turkey sought to expel all Armenians from its borders. Because the Ottoman Empire had conveniently disarmed its minorities and drafted most of their able-bodied men into its army (only to be slaughtered), resistance to the genocide was few and far between. The citizens of Van, however, were able to pull off a resistance similar to the earlier Zeitun Resistance, [[TheSiege holding off the Turkish army with little more than pistols and rifles using recycled bullets]]. Despite being desperately outnumbered, they were able to hold the Turkish siege back long enough for the Russian army to liberate the city. A similar resistance happened at the mountain of Musa Dagh, where the Armenians resisted for 53 days before [[UsefulNotes/GaulsWithGrenades French Warships]] rescued the citizens and brought them to Egypt.

After UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne Armenia was independent for a brief period once they defeated Turkey in the [[LastStand Battle of Sadarapat]] (with its borders drawn by none other than UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson...though it must be said he only wanted to help the Armenians [[ValuesDissonance because they were Christian]]). In that battle, Turkey attempted to finish the Armenian nation off once and for all (and possibly complete the Armenian Genocide) by moving into the city of Yerevan, but were thankfully defeated by an army of practically any Armenian that could carry a gun, and forced to retreat after decisive defeats in the cities of Karakilisa and Abaran as well. But after being weakened by repeated massacres, disease and famine, and years of nonstop wars with Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, the country was finally conquered and divided between Turkey and the newly-formed Soviet Union (who secretly supplied the Turkish with money and weaponry to gain their help in taking over Armenia), where it was given the boundaries it holds today. Not everyone took this lying down though, and general Garegin Njhdeh (the commander who was in charge of the Karakilisa defense three years earlier) led an armed resistance against the Soviets in 1921, even managing to capture the capital of Yerevan for 42 days until they were pushed south. The southern regions of Armenia would declare independence, though the Republic of Mountainous Armenia was short-lived. Upon being overwhelmed by the Red Army, they negotiated a truce that included the southern province of Syunik being included in the Armenian SSR; an important provision which gave modern Armenia a border with Iran and prevented Turkey and Azerbaijan from surrounding Armenia on three sides.

to:

During the UsefulNotes/FirstWorldWar, UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, Armenians fought on both sides of the conflict as the Ottoman Empire made an ill-fated attempt to invade Russia in the winter, because Armenians happened to also be living on the Russian side. Though there were a number of Armenians working as spies for the Russians, ironically there were a higher number of ''Turkish'' people working as spies too, and besides that the blundering military tactics of [[GeneralFailure General Enver Pasha]] did more to foil the Turkish efforts than anything else. But the Turkish government, now under the control of the Young Turks, accused all of its Armenian civilians of treason after their defeat (when really they had just been waiting for a good enough excuse to get rid of the Armenians since the 1800's), and thus in 1915 the events of the Armenian Genocide unfolded as Turkey sought to expel all Armenians from its borders. Because the Ottoman Empire had conveniently disarmed its minorities and drafted most of their able-bodied men into its army (only to be slaughtered), resistance to the genocide was few and far between. The citizens of Van, however, were able to pull off a resistance similar to the earlier Zeitun Resistance, [[TheSiege holding off the Turkish army with little more than pistols and rifles using recycled bullets]]. Despite being desperately outnumbered, they were able to hold the Turkish siege back long enough for the Russian army to liberate the city. A similar resistance happened at the mountain of Musa Dagh, where the Armenians resisted for 53 days before [[UsefulNotes/GaulsWithGrenades French Warships]] rescued the citizens and brought them to Egypt.

After UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne UsefulNotes/WorldWarI Armenia was independent for a brief period once they defeated Turkey in the [[LastStand Battle of Sadarapat]] (with its borders drawn by none other than UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson...though it must be said he only wanted to help the Armenians [[ValuesDissonance because they were Christian]]). In that battle, Turkey attempted to finish the Armenian nation off once and for all (and possibly complete the Armenian Genocide) by moving into the city of Yerevan, but were thankfully defeated by an army of practically any Armenian that could carry a gun, and forced to retreat after decisive defeats in the cities of Karakilisa and Abaran as well. But after being weakened by repeated massacres, disease and famine, and years of nonstop wars with Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, the country was finally conquered and divided between Turkey and the newly-formed Soviet Union (who secretly supplied the Turkish with money and weaponry to gain their help in taking over Armenia), where it was given the boundaries it holds today. Not everyone took this lying down though, and general Garegin Njhdeh (the commander who was in charge of the Karakilisa defense three years earlier) led an armed resistance against the Soviets in 1921, even managing to capture the capital of Yerevan for 42 days until they were pushed south. The southern regions of Armenia would declare independence, though the Republic of Mountainous Armenia was short-lived. Upon being overwhelmed by the Red Army, they negotiated a truce that included the southern province of Syunik being included in the Armenian SSR; an important provision which gave modern Armenia a border with Iran and prevented Turkey and Azerbaijan from surrounding Armenia on three sides.

* ChildSoldiers - Sadly occurred during most of the UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne resistance, if only because there simply weren't enough adult men left to defend against the Ottomans. In Van for example troops of Boy Scouts were deployed, though usually their job was to tend to the wounded, collect used bullets and put out fires caused by bombs going off.

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* ChildSoldiers - Sadly occurred during most of the UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne UsefulNotes/WorldWarI resistance, if only because there simply weren't enough adult men left to defend against the Ottomans. In Van for example troops of Boy Scouts were deployed, though usually their job was to tend to the wounded, collect used bullets and put out fires caused by bombs going off.

** In late Ottoman times, naturally. Though contrary to the Turkish version of history, at first they just wanted civil rights and a degree of autonomy as Christians faced growing discrimination in the Ottoman Empire, later they just didn't want to be slaughtered. It should be stressed that what happened in Van and Musa Dagh was a ''resistance'', not a rebellion, and these are about the only two cases where the Armenians weren't completely slaughtered or deported into the desert. The subject still can cause InternetBackdraft anywhere the UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne years of the Ottoman Empire are discussed.

to:

** In late Ottoman times, naturally. Though contrary to the Turkish version of history, at first they just wanted civil rights and a degree of autonomy as Christians faced growing discrimination in the Ottoman Empire, later they just didn't want to be slaughtered. It should be stressed that what happened in Van and Musa Dagh was a ''resistance'', not a rebellion, and these are about the only two cases where the Armenians weren't completely slaughtered or deported into the desert. The subject still can cause InternetBackdraft anywhere the UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne UsefulNotes/WorldWarI years of the Ottoman Empire are discussed.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/603px-Maps_of_the_Armenian_Empire_of_Tigranes_147.gif[[caption-width:603:Ah, the good old days. [[note]] The Empire of Tigran the Great at it's fullest extent, between 95-55 BC [[/note]]]]

to:

http://static.[[quoteright:450:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/603px-Maps_of_the_Armenian_Empire_of_Tigranes_147.gif[[caption-width:603:Ah, gif]][[caption-width-right:450:Ah, the good old days. [[note]] The Empire of Tigran the Great at it's fullest extent, between 95-55 BC [[/note]]]][[/note]]]]

* TheRemnant: Artsakh, Sasun and Cilicia after the Seljuk Turk invasion. Of these three Artsakh has still never been fully conquered, and was always left at least semi-autonomous, due to its inaccessibility.

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* TheRemnant: Artsakh, Lori, Sasun and Cilicia after the Seljuk Turk invasion. Of these three four Artsakh has still never been fully conquered, and was always left at least semi-autonomous, due to its inaccessibility.

After UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne Armenia was independent for a brief period once they defeated Turkey in the [[LastStand Battle of Sadarapat]] (with its borders drawn by none other than UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson...though it must be said he only wanted to help the Armenians [[ValuesDissonance because they were Christian]]). In that battle, Turkey attempted to finish the Armenian nation off once and for all (and possibly complete the Armenian Genocide) by moving into the city of Yerevan, but were thankfully defeated by an army of practically any Armenian that could carry a gun, and forced to retreat after decisive defeats in the cities of Karakilisa and Abaran as well. But after being weakened by repeated massacres, disease and famine, and years of nonstop wars with Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, the country was finally conquered and divided between Turkey and the newly-formed Soviet Union (who secretly supplied the Turkish with money and weaponry to gain their help in taking over Armenia), where it was given the boundaries it holds today. Not everyone took this lying down though, and general Garegin Njhdeh led an armed resistance against the Soviets in 1921, even managing to capture the capital of Yerevan for 42 days until they were pushed south. The southern regions of Armenia would declare independence, though the Republic of Mountainous Armenia was short-lived. Upon being overwhelmed by the Red Army, they negotiated a truce that included the southern province of Syunik being included in the Armenian SSR; an important provision which gave modern Armenia a border with Iran and prevented Turkey and Azerbaijan from surrounding Armenia on three sides.

to:

After UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne Armenia was independent for a brief period once they defeated Turkey in the [[LastStand Battle of Sadarapat]] (with its borders drawn by none other than UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson...though it must be said he only wanted to help the Armenians [[ValuesDissonance because they were Christian]]). In that battle, Turkey attempted to finish the Armenian nation off once and for all (and possibly complete the Armenian Genocide) by moving into the city of Yerevan, but were thankfully defeated by an army of practically any Armenian that could carry a gun, and forced to retreat after decisive defeats in the cities of Karakilisa and Abaran as well. But after being weakened by repeated massacres, disease and famine, and years of nonstop wars with Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, the country was finally conquered and divided between Turkey and the newly-formed Soviet Union (who secretly supplied the Turkish with money and weaponry to gain their help in taking over Armenia), where it was given the boundaries it holds today. Not everyone took this lying down though, and general Garegin Njhdeh (the commander who was in charge of the Karakilisa defense three years earlier) led an armed resistance against the Soviets in 1921, even managing to capture the capital of Yerevan for 42 days until they were pushed south. The southern regions of Armenia would declare independence, though the Republic of Mountainous Armenia was short-lived. Upon being overwhelmed by the Red Army, they negotiated a truce that included the southern province of Syunik being included in the Armenian SSR; an important provision which gave modern Armenia a border with Iran and prevented Turkey and Azerbaijan from surrounding Armenia on three sides.

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